Trailer



April 5, 1932,.

c. F. SMITH "TRAILER yFiled Feb. 7, 195o 5 sneew--sneet` 1' ATTORNEY April 5., 1932.

AC. F. SMITH TRAILER 5 Sheets-Smet` 2 Filed' Feb. 7, 1930 ATTORNEY c. F. SMITH April 5, 1932.

TRAILER 5 sheets-sheet 3 Filed Feb. 7, 1930 ATTORNEY v c. F. SMITH April 5, 1932.

TRAILER Filed Feb. '7, 195o 5 sheets-sheet 4 ,uw w ww N krfuurxxrnxxizxx xx-xxzrrrrx'xwffxrrrzz I I 1 l I l l ATTORNEY C. F. SMITH April 5, 1932.

TRAILER 5 sheets-sheet 5 Filed Feb. 7, 1930 ATTORNEY Patented lApr. 5,3 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT ori-fics CLAUDE F.y SMITH,`OF LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA TRAILER Application filed February 7, 1939. Serial No. 426,644.:

This invention relates to trailers for use in supporting means asy to house the same beconnection with automobiles and has as its neath the lower-section of the trailer, during. l general object tocprovide a trailer which may travel, in such 'a manner that it will not in be readily connected with the rear of 'an ordianyway be liable to interfere with the travel u nary'automobile and which will be so conof the trailer.` 55 structed that it will serve to accommodate a Another object of the invention is to pronuinber of persons on an extended tour, with vide a novel arrangement ofv doors lfor the ample sleeping quarters and dining quarters, upper and lower sections ofthe trailer, which f so that vthe device does not present the disarrangement is such as to not in any way advantage of a tent which requires considinterfere with the telescopic movement of the 60 erable labor to erect and which is bunglesome, upper section' to raised and lowered position and likewise does not necessitate storage in with respect to the lower section. or upon the body of any automobile of cots, A further object of the invention is to cooking utensils, etc.V i provide means whereby an auxiliary section- Another obfect of the invention is to proal bed may be utilized, above the main 4bed' 65 vide a trailer in' which 'the bed structure mayr Structure, when desired. be readily arranged, to serve during daylight 'This invention also consists in certain and evening hours 'as a very comfortable other features of construction and in the lounge or seat, so that the travelers may rest Combination and arrangement of the several in comfort in the trailer rather than being parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illus- 70 crowded and discommoded by having to octrated in the accompanying drawings, and Cupythe automobile Seats. j specifically pointed out in the appended Another object of the invention is to proclaim. vide a trailer embodying a lower section in In describing my invention in detail, rei which the convertible bed andsofa as well erence will be had to the accompanying 75' as other seats, a combined kitchen and dindrawings wherein like characters denote like ing table, a stove, cooking utensils and food or corresponding parts throughout the sev` may be' suitably arranged or stored, and an eral views, and in which upper section which may be elevated when Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the the trailer is being employed as sleeping or trailer, embodying the invention, arranged dining quarters andv` which upper portion for use, a portion of the adjacent side walls may be lowered to a `position considerably 0f the 'upper and lower sections being broken below the rear window of the automobile, duraway so as to better illustrate the arrangeing daylight travel, so as to otier no obstruc. ment of the main and auxiliary bed units tion of the rear view of the driver of the autoof the structure. a v mobile. Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional Another object of the invention is to pro- View through the trailer, the combined bedr y vide a trailer' which, when in the course of and seat units beingkarranged for use as travel and being drawn by the automobile in seats. y connection with which it is employed, will Figure 3 is a similar view illustrating the 90 he Isupported upon two ground wheels mountstructure collapsed. by lowering of the uped intermediate the front and rear ends of per section thereof, and the combined bed the trailer so that the trailer will automatand seat unit arranged for use as a bed. icallv follow the course of travel of the auto- Figure l is a horizontal sectional'view on mobile, means being provided for supportthe .lines- 4L of Figure 2, looking in the dif 95 ing the four corners of the trailer upon the rection indicated bythe arrows. ground surface and being so constructed that Figure 5 is a vertical transverse sectional the means may be very conveniently brought view on the line 5 5 of Figure 1 looking 1nV into use and adjusted, the invention further the direction indicated by the arrows. contemplating such' an arrangement of this Figure 6 is a detail sectional view illus- 10G trating a portion of the mechanism provided for eifecting raising and lowering of the upper section of the trailer.

The trailer embodying the invention, comprises a lower section which is indicated in generalby the numeral 1, and, an upper section indicated by the numeral 2 and the lower section is mounted by means of ground wheels 3 in turn mounted upon. the axle 4 supported by a spring 5 and these wheels and their supporting means are located midway between the front and rear ends of the said lower section 1. A draw bar or tongue 6 is mounted at the forward end of the lower section 1 and may be connected, in any desired manner, with the rear axle or other convenient rear part of an automobile by which the trailer is to be drawn.

In order that the trailer may be held stationary, when it is desired to utilize the same for eating and sleeping quarters or for rest quarters, a supporting means is provided at each of the four corners of the section and comprises a tubular member 7 which is pivotally mounted as at 8 upon the under side of the floor 9 of the said section and a threaded stem 10 is swiveled at its lower end in a base 11 which is designed to rest upon the round surface, when the supporting device 1s in use, and a squared head 12 is provided upon this stem and is adapted for the ap plication thereto of a wrench whereby the section comprising the supporting means maybe extended or contracted. In order that the members may be supported in an elevated position when not in use, spring clips 13 are likewise mounted upon the under side of the floor 9 and in front or rear relation tothe pivots 8 so that the supporting members ma be swung upwardly beneath the floor 9 o the said section 1 and engaged with the respective clips'13, for .the purpose stated. At this point it will be evident that when the structure is not in actual use, the supporting members will be swung to the folded position as stated above, and therefore when the tongue or draw bar 6 is connected with the automobile, the trailer will be caused to exactly follow the path of travel of the automobile, being supported at such time by the wheels 3.

The lower section 1 is of oblong rectangu lar form and includes, in addition to the Hoor 9, side walls 14 and a front end wall 15, and a rear wall 16.

The upper section of the trailer is indicated in general by the numeral 17 and it, too, likewise, comprises side walls 18, a top 19, a front end wall 20 and a rear end wall 21, and the upper and lower sections are so proportioned that the upper section may be telescopically fitted over the lower section. In order to limit the upward movement of the upper section, which movement is effected, as well as the lowering movement, by a means to be presently described, rails 22 are secured to the outer sides of the sidewalls 14 of the lower section and other rails 23 are secured to the outer sides of the front and rear walls of said section and, similarly, rails 24 are secured to the inner sides of the side walls 18 of the upper section 17, and other rails 25 are secured to the inner sides of the front and rear walls of the upper section, it being observed by reference to Figures 1, 2, 5 and 6 of the drawings that, when the upper section is elevated, the corresponding rails of the two sections will be in a utting relation. I

The means referred to above, for effecting upward and downward telescopic. adjustment of the upper section with respect to the lower section of the trailer comprises a shaft 26 which is mounted in suitable bearings 27 upon the under sides of cross sills 28 mounted near the front and rear of the under side of the. floor 9 of the section 1, and the forward end of this shaft is squared as indicated by the numeral 29 and a crank handle 30 is removably fitted thereto and rotatable to effect winding or unwinding of cables 31 which are connected to thc shaft 26 at equi-distantly s aced points, suitable ratchet members 32 ing provided for preventing unwinding of the cablesby the backward rotation of the shaft.

These cables are trained beneath ulleys 33 mounted upon the under side of tlie floor 9 and are led upwardlv at the' outer sides of the sidewalls 14 of the section l and over pulleys 34 mounted at the opposite sides of each end of the section 1 at the upper corners thereof, the cables 31 being led downwardly through openings 35 formed in the side rails 22 of the section 1 and, rearwardly, to the pulleys 34 at the rear corners of the said section, the shaft 26 being located at the front of the section l. It will now be evident that by rotating the shaft 26, through the medium of the crank handle 30, the cables will all be uniformly wound about the shaft, thus causing a vertical elevation of the upper section 17 of the trailer, and causing the same to assume the positions shown in Figures 1, 2, 5 and 6 of the drawings. f

The convertible bed and couch unit comprises sections which are indicated in general. one by the numeral 38 and the other by the numeral 39, and these sections are identical in construction and each comprises a base 40 which may be made of wood and a leather cushion 41 which is mounted thereon and within which are arranged cushioning springs 42. Angle iron bars 43 are'secured upon the inner sides of the side walls 14 of the section 1 and by reference to Figure 2 of the drawings, it will be observed that when the sections 38 and 39 are to be employed as a couch, the section 38 is moved rearwardly over the angle iron bars 43 and adjusted to assume the upright position shown in this figure, with its base 40 resting against the inner side of the ar.) .l

rear wall of the body yof the section 1, and

tional,y and these guards are inthe nature of housings whichmay be constructed of wood A and are arranged leach, beside one ofthe side wardly from the forward'edge of the section y y n n villiistratedgin-Figure 4,1thedoors-55`and 58y kwalls 14 of the section 1, and each includes an inner side wall 45 whichis parallel tothe said sidewall-14 and a top wall 46. A relatively shallow front wall extends downwardly from the forward-side of the top wall l46 and a relatively short wall section 48ex'- tends forwardly from the lower edge of the wall section 47, a section 49 extending {down- 48 and being secured to the floor 9 in any suitable manner at the forward side of an opening 50,-whichfis formed in said floor.` A v padded cushion 51 is arranged upon the top t each of the guards 44 and thereforetheguards serve ynot onlycthe purpose assigned c above, but also as side seats, and by reference to Figures 2 and 3 f the drawings,itwill e observed that the upper sidesof'the cushi ns` 51 are in the same horizontal planes as the upper sides of the cushions 38 and 39, when these cushions 38 and 39 are arranged `as shown in Figure 3, so that the cushions51,' y

i which they form, when arranged in the manat this time, may constitute alsoextensions Yof the bed bottom which is formed n'y the said sections 38 and 39. It will be observed at this point that'iwhen the sections 38 4and 39 are arranged in the manner shown inFigure 2 there is a space left in front of the said section39 and the wall portions 47 and 49 of the guards 44, so that there is ample room for the ones occupying the seat 39,' to rest in comfort and, astheguards 44 are relatively narrow, the cushions 51 may be occupied with equal comfort.

As the sections 38 and 39 extend the entire width of the interior of the trailenthe bed ner shown in Figure 3, is sufficiently wideto comfortably accommodate two persons',`and

` in order that more than-this number may be l-cfs accommodated, angle iron bars 52 are secured to theinner sidesl of the side walls 14 ofthe near the upper edges thereof, and consequently a considerable 'distance above the angle iron bars 43, andsaid bottom sections 53 are of any desired construction so long as they otherswho are .making the trip or `ure 2 of the drawings.

Windows, indicated by thenumeral 54 are preferably mounted in the sidesl of the upper when the upper section 17 is in elevated "position, and the trailer is in actual use. Inprder that yaccess maybe gained to the interior 'section 18 so that light may enter the trailer l l.

ofthe trailer, the'lowerl section 1 is.. provided j with a ldoorway at. its rear end, and a'door 55jy is mounted,v by hinges', in-this..doorway and is adapted to be swung in'wardlyrandis held vclosed by an ordinary Ldoorlatch or flock] 57. In a similar manner theupper section 17 is formed-'withladoor opening intits rear end anda door 58 is mounted by-,hinges 59 abone' 35i side of this? doorway and is adapted tofbe swung outwardly to openl position and isfnor-q mally held closed by a door latch or lock/58',

andj at this pointit will bev evident,that, as4

are so mounted that theymay be'both swung to theinterior of thestructure.

to open position Vso as toiprovide foraccess A stepmember, 6o is hinged, as at 61 ma Y cross piece 62 which is mounted,uponthey runder side ofthe rear cross piece 28 of :the

fioorstructure, and .the step isso `hingedly connected with ,the said cross piece '.62 thatwhen it islowered to the fully line position shown in Figure2, this-portion, in advance ofits hinges 61will engage uponthe under willbe securely supported inhorizontal position, and in .order thatthe step may ,besup ported in fan elevated position, a spring clip` 63 is mounted upon the' rear wall of the lower section 1 and is engagcable" with the free edge of the step 60 when the stepis swung to raised position as for example, during travel ofthe, trailer over the roadsurface. yA brace 64 `is f secured at itsupper end to the underside ofthe fioor'9 and isinclined downwardly and y end to rearwardly and secured, at-gitsrlower the rearfside of the crossy piece 62. Y In order :that meals may `be cooked and provided, as will now` be l. described.r 'The` and with its ylower portion -fentendingup- 1100 sidev of thek cross piece 28Vso that theste'ps; i

los

served in the trailer, ythe proper *facilities are K n wardly beside the rear wallof the respective i, 'n section `1 near the front of said section and` guard 44, which rear wall is indicated by theto substantially the same heightv as the side, front, and rear kwalls of the section 1, anda shelf 67 is mounted between vthis wall andthe rear wall 16 of the said'section 1,1and a stove 69 in the form of a gasoline stove is mounted upon this shelf.'4 Below the shelf 67 'and arranged in a similar manner thereis an- `numeral 66. This board extends upwardly lisp,

other shelf 70 which likewise extends between the wall 65 and the rear wall 16 of the section 1, and the rear end of this wall extends over the top of the casing of a refrigerator or ice box 71.

A third shelf 72 is arranged below the shaft 7() and extends between the wall 65 and a shorter wall 73 which is mounted upon the bottom 9 of the unit 1 and against the forward wall of the ice box 71 and dishes, cooking utensils, knives, forks, and other kitchen utensils as well as dining table utensils may be arranged upon these shelves.

A dining table is provided in that rear corner of the structure opposite the corner in which the stove, refrigerator and shelves are mounted, and this table comprises a top 73 which is hingedly mounted at o ne of its longif tudinalk edges upon the respective side wall 2,1, '14 of the section 1 at a point sufliciently elex vated with respect to the cushion 51 at the l corresponding side of the section, to permit one seated upon this cushion to conveniently use the table top in consuming a meal, any suitable means being provided, of course, for

holding the table top in its lowered or downwardly swung position.

In order that rain may be prevented from entering the doorway in the rear end of the upper section of the trailer, a hood 74 is. mounted as at 7 5 upon the rear wall 21 of the said upper section above said doorway and preferably this door will be provided with'a pane 76 so that the occupants may view the hi hway.

Vhat I claim is A trailer comprising a closure structure, wheel's supporting the structure, seats located in the ystructure at each side thereof an d.

40 intermediate the ends of said structure, offset portions formed on. the seats and located in a plane below said seats, supporting elements secured to the sides of the structure and extending from one end wall thereof to the offset portions, and a pair of cushionsA slida-bly and adjustably mounted on said supporting elements and when in one position one of said cushions disposed vertically l against the aforementioned end wall with the other cushion disposed horizontally to provide a combined lounge and seat spaced from the first named seats and when placed in another position both cushions disposed horizontally with one cushion abuttin the first named seats to provide spaced be s located at each side of the structure.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

CLAUDE F. SMITH. 

